Nainsook: a lightweight, plain weave cotton fabric . Used for lingerie, baby clothes.

Napped: see Brushed/ Napped.

Natural: refers to the color of the fiber as found in nature, i.e. unbleached and undyed. Linen and linen blends are often sold in their natural brown color.

Natural & color: refers to yarn dye fabrics which combine natural yarns and colored yarns in the design.

Natural and overprint: refers to printing done on a natural ground.

Nautical: refers to motifs with a nautical or maritime theme.

Needled: a type of nonwoven in which the fibers are entangled and mechanically bonded by needle punching.

Needlepoint lace: a method of making lace by buttonhole stitches using an embroidery needle and thread on a heavy paper base.

Nep: small knots of fiber embedded in the yarn. May be intentional or unintentional.

Ninon: a lightweight, smooth, plain weave, open mesh fabric. It is usually of synthetic fiber. Used for evening wear, curtains, lingerie.

No wale corduroy: a corduroy with a short all over cut pile and thus no visible wale.

Nottingham lace: a wide machine made lace. Originally made in Nottingham England.

Novelty: a general term that refers to a fabric that is not basic or common, i.e. one that has unusual or special effects in the yarn, weave, coloring or finishing.

Nun's veiling: a plain weave, lightweight, sheer fabric of high quality usually found in black or white. May be made of wool silk cotton or synthetics. Named for it's original use by religious orders .

Oatmeal cloth: a heavy, soft fabric with a specked pebbly surface. Used for drapery, upholstery.

Oil Coated: the application of oil to a fabric (usually linseed oil) to seal it and made it waterproof.

Oil Repellent: a treatment that allows a fabric to resist staining by oily substances.

Oilcloth: a general term for any oil coated fabric.

Ombre: refers to a gradual change in shade from light to dark or from one color to another. May be done as a yarn dye or in printing.

Open end: a high speed yarn spinning process that creates yarn by transferring twist from previously formed yarn to fiber or sliver continuously fed into the spinning machine. The twisting may be done by mechanical methods, rotors or air jets.

Organdy: A thin, very stiff, lightweight, plain weave fabric usually of cotton or cotton blends. It is often treated to make the crisp finish permanent. Used for apparel trim such as collars and cuffs, evening wear, dresses, curtains.

Organza: A thin, plain weave, sheer fabric of silk or synthetic filament yarn such as polyester or nylon . Used for evening or party wear, bridal wear, curtains, millinery.

Osnaburg: a coarse, strong, plain weave, medium to heavy weight fabric, usually of cotton . Used for industrial purposes, drapery and upholstery.

Ottoman: a medium to heavy weight fabric with wide horizontal ribs . May be knit or woven. Used for women's apparel, upholstery, drapery.

Outline embroidered: a fabric with a design motif traced (outlined) with embroidery stitches.

Outline quilted: a quilted fabric in which the quilting stitches follow the motif of a print design.

Overdyed: dyeing of a print or yarn dyed fabric in a shade which does not totally cover the original design.

Overprinted: Usually refers to printing over a previously dyed fabric, however yarn dyes, cross dyes and previously printed fabrics are also sometimes overprinted.

Oxford: a fabric with a single filling yarn woven over and under 2 smaller warp yarns. Commonly found in cotton shirtings but oxfords are produced in a wide variety of fibers and weights for many uses, mainly in apparel.